When Manchester City (3rd) host Liverpool (6th), it's always a thrilling match. And this encounter on Matchday 11 of the Premier League was no exception. For his 1000th match as a manager, Pep Guardiola fielded a very attacking lineup, mirroring City's recent starting XIs, with Cherki, Foden, Bernardo Silva, and Doku behind Haaland. For Liverpool, Arne Slot fielded the same team that had beaten Real Madrid (1-0) in the Champions League on Tuesday, with Ekitiké preferred to Isak.
The first spark of this match came from City . After a misunderstanding between Bradley and Konat̩, Doku stole the ball from the Reds ' right-back . Trying to outpace Marmardashvili, the Belgian was slightly fouled by the latter. After consulting VAR, Chris Kavanagh pointed to the penalty spot. Haaland stepped up to take the penalty, but it was ultimately the former Valencia goalkeeper who had the last word, perfectly diving to his left to deflect the Norwegian's attempt (13th minute). This miss, however, didn't unsettle City. Unstoppable on his flank, Doku once again toyed with Bradley before unleashing a powerful shot from a tight angle Рsaved by Marmardashvili (27th minute). Two minutes later, the Liverpool goalkeeper was finally beaten. After a cross from Nunes, Haaland outjumped Konat̩ and headed home to send the Etihad Stadium into raptures (29th minute, 1-0). The Norwegian goalscoring machine notched his 99th goal in 108 Premier League appearances. Outplayed, Liverpool were clearly struggling. Yet, the Reds thought they had equalized when Van Dijk headed home a corner (39th minute)... before the goal was disallowed for offside against Robertson, who had impeded Donnarumma. The Dutch defender also had a difficult end to the first half, as he saved Nico Gonzalez's long-range effort, allowing City to extend their lead (45+3, 2-0).
City are not giving up on Arsenal
In the second half, Liverpool tried to mount a comeback, especially with the introduction of Kerkez and Gakpo. The Dutch striker even missed a golden opportunity to pull one back, misjudging a good cross from Bradley at the far post (58th minute). But Manchester City were simply too strong. Found inside by O'Reilly, Jeremy Doku cut inside with a powerful burst of speed before curling a perfect shot to seal the victory for the Sky Blues (63rd minute, 3-0). Liverpool tried to salvage some pride, first with a powerful shot from Szoboszlai, saved by Donnarumma (76th minute), then with a chipped effort from Salah (80th minute). All to no avail. This delighted the Manchester City fans, who broke into the chant " Sack in the morning!" "You're getting sacked in the morning " (" Fire in the morning! You'll be fired in the morning ") addressed to Arne Slot.
The celebrations were in full swing for City, who secured their first victory against Liverpool since April 2023. Second in the Premier League table , the Citizens made the most of the day, closing the gap to four points behind Arsenal, who were held to a draw by Sunderland on Saturday. Pep Guardiola notched his 395th win in 550 matches since taking over in 2016. Meanwhile, Liverpool's struggles continued, as they suffered their fourth consecutive away defeat in the league. Eighth in the table and eight points behind the Gunners , Arne Slot's side appear to have already bid farewell to the title.
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